Fins Feathers Fur and Native Abuse

[Tanner]

I was channel surfing tonight and I came across the Hot Tamale Fishing Show. Fins Feathers and Fur were fishing on the Umpqua, catching some beautiful natives and NETTING them. Now in the past I have been more than guilty of this, but I did not know any better until recently. These guys are seasoned guides and I would think that they would want to do everything possible to protect the well being of those beautiful native fish. They had one guy from South river Marine fishing with them and when he went to take the fish out of the net he had his bare hands all over it. I'm sure that being seasoned guides they don't make a practice out of this.

I don't want to sound fanatical or anything, but I am really starting to see the importance in preserving those native fish. I also think that if you are going to air seasoned and respected guides fishing for natives on TV, proper and ethical methods of catch and release should be displayed.

Just my two cents.

[Spooled]

Tanner, although I do not net native fish, there is no regulation against it. I agree that these fish need and deserve protection. A lot of people on this board seem to think if people don't catch and release a fish the way they do, it is wrong. You must release native fish unharmed, is what the regulations require. As for having bare hands all over the fish, I do take pictures of natives sometimes before I release them. I see others do the same. The regulations also state you should revive a native before releasing it. Most people I see, including myself, handle the fish to accomplish this. I think fish are tougher than you give them credit for. Give the guys on the show a little credit for doing what the regulations require, releasing wild fish unharmed and providing us another way of enjoying our sport.

[finclipped]

Really there are worse ways of handling a fish than netting them. I saw on the news the other day a guy held a native up by the gills before he released it back in the river. What a dumba... Last weekend, I saw nearly everyone netting fish, bringing them in the boat, and then puting them back in the water. It seems like we can do better than this. I think most of us are sensitive about handling fish with care, But there is no doubt we can improve our C&R techniques.

[Bait O' Eggs]

Tanner,

I watched the show last night. I have known Travis for a long time and he does care about the resourse. His partner Todd, I have met at the sportsman shows the last couple years. I think they are a couple good guys that know how to put a person on a fish.

I dont really have a problem with a guy netting a fish which is going to be released. If it can be avoided I would rather see that, but they were careful and revived each fish. I really get upset when I see guys just toss them over the side. images/icons/mad.gif

I guess we all need to find what we are comfortable with.

This morning I saw 3 fish springers get released back in the water and 2 of them were netted. I dont see the difference between netting a springer or a steelhead that is going to be released.

[Phish_on]

Is it better to wear them out to the point where you can grab them? That seems worse to me ... tell me more. The only salmon I've caught in a "selective" fishery were Columbia coho, I didn't even try to call the finclips from the boat - it was net them, leave them in the water, check fins and release or bonk.

Only one native, thrashed around too much, it was no good for her and I just about got a hook through my thumb, but she swam away pretty well. I'd like to know more details on techniques for handling the natives. (Just in case!) images/icons/rolleyes.gif

[Hottamale1]

Boys....

I know that in most cases, catching and releasing a native fish is best done by "tailing" the fish alongside the riverbank however...The Umpqua is a HUGE river. Several spots where these fish were hooked, was quite a ways from the bank or adjacent to some "not-so friendly" water.

Todd & Travis are excellent guides with a good reputation. I beleive that they will do everything possible (as will I) to help assist releasing these fish Unharmed.

Thanks for the input!

Scott

[parker]

I'm not an expert at releasing fish, but I have released well over 1500 steelhead and did spend 3 years working in the UW Fish pond with salmons. Here's what I can tell you about C&R.

Play the fish hard and bring it in fast. Do *not* overplay the fish to tire it out. That's probably the absolute worst thing you can do. That's almost a certain Kiss-of-Death for that fish. I forget the biological reason, but it has something to do with white blood cell counts. The more you fight the fish, the worse these counts get.

In shallow waters, Wet your hand, wade out to your shins and tail the fish. Remove the hook. At this point, if you are like me and want your picture taken, wet your other hand and gently cradle it's belly. When the fish is calm, lift the fish out of the water, head slightly pointed down. Smile, and gently put the fish in the water with it's head pointed up river. At this point, the fish should vigorously slap it's tail and get you all wet as it darts back to deeper water for safety. If not, gently keep your hand on it's tail and move the tail back and forth in a psudo-swimming motion. In a few seconds, a health steelhead will again, slap the water and get you all wet in a "thank you", as it swims away. Any fish that lazily swims away, is not a good sign. That fish will probably not survive - not a sure thing, but it's really not a good sign.

In deeper waters, where you are stuck in your boat, use a net to contain the fish. Ideally, we all have catch-and-release rubber nets. If you do not, then why are you catch and releasing fish? Go out and spend the dollars if you care about good C&R practices. If you don't have the rubber C&R net, a good old net will work. Once the fish is in the net, keep the fish submerged in the water. DO NOT bring the fish and net in to the boat. Tail the fish and remove the hook ASAP. You do run the real risk of having a trashing fish tangle itself in the net and hook. With the hook removed, and the fish tailed, gently cradle the fish by the belly with the head pointed down. Again, repeate the above process for releasing it.

Some personal notes:

Holding the fish by the tail with one hand, cradling it's belly with the other, and slightly pointing the fish in a heads-down position will calm any fish down for short periods of time. Don't know why, but it does work.

Tailing a fish with wet bare hands is recommended. Tailing a fish with a glove will remove the natural slime off of the fish, thereby increasing the risk of infections and other nasties. Yes, you will get a better grip on the fish with a glove, but you will do more damage.

Chinook are easy to tail as they have a pronounced forked tail that does not collapse.

Steelhead are a little more tricky, as their tails are not nearly as forked and somewhat collapse when tailing.

Coho are almost impossible to tail without a glove. Their tails will completely collapse. Not impossible, but a real pain.

I don't even bother tailing Chums. Yuk! Don't want them nasties in net, either!

That's all I can say for now. There's really nothing to it and if done correctly, very little harm is ever done to a tailed fish.

[ 04-03-2001: Message edited by: parker ]

[C&R]

I'll agree that every river and situation has some slightly unque attributes and I believe you are looking ot the good of the resource in general. My observations, one of the later fish was held out of the water a very long time for extra pictures. Bait was used, although I could not tell if any fish wher hooked deeply. I don't like to see fish that are going to be released taken out and held over a boat= to much time, must be held tighter that necessary and could be dropped.


I will say that you guys did a better job than people on most fishing shows.

[Deleted User]

Tanner or who ever may read this,

It is obvious to us that you still do not know any better with regards to handling fish. Each catch and release situation differs from river to river. For example,the Umpqua River is a wide, fast flowing river with limited bank access. In most cases the quicker we can land and release a fish the less harm is done. With the characteristics of the Umpqua, netting the fish allows us to do this. If we were to play every fish to the point where we could "tail it", there would be a greater chance of mortality. By netting these "Natives", we are reducing the amount of time on hook and line and with limited slow moving water these fish have a better chance of recovering.
A final thought: As we stated before every fishing situation is different. At all times we do what is best for the fish, and as "seasoned guides", we determine what that is. That may be tailing, netting or cutting the line on a swallowed hook.
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